i've recently tried two beers from a local brewery that uses flavored coffee. One used a coconut and hazelnut coffee and another caramel. Both were tasty and it tasted like actual coconut, hazelnut or caramel was used without adding sweetness. Curious if anybody has done this before and if so how did it turn out?
Never done it fairly new to brewing but If I were id make sure the coffee flavorings were all natural and Im sure some of the flavor came from other adjuncts rather than just the coffee I can't see how the flavor of the coffee would come through much.
My first thought is to agree on a coffee flavor addition such as vanilla wouldn't come though on the beer I think about how the choice of bean is important to the beer. Based on the coffee bean used I can pick up specific flavors such as citrus, chocolate, spice etc so why wouldn't a flavor additive such as vanilla come though? In most cases when I do drink a flavored coffee I have blend it with a non flavored coffee because it's usually too much. I would still prefer to use regular coffee and add the adjunct flavor I want but this might be an easier option. I'll Have to experiment with it.
Have used Coconut Creme coffee in a stout, comes out really nice. That expirement turned into one of the breweries core beers now.
I remember listening to an episode of the session with Duclaw. They do some flavored coffee beers also. I believe they added the coffee to the top of the mash as they were fly sparging if I remember correctly. I always like doing "dry" beaning in the keg. The problem is that I believe that flavored coffees are generally always ground?
When you dry bean do you crush the beans or leave them whole? Most flavored coffee does seem to come pre packed already
I guess it depends on the adjunct, I get a coffee from a regional Grocery chain that is a light roast with pecan & praline flavoring, but it does have whole toasted coconut in it. I have looked all over the package and can't determine which of the flavors is natural or artificial, but their website states both. I have thought about how this would work in a stout, as the flavors are not that in your face, somewhat subtle.
To me, flavored coffees offer a one dimensional note comparable to bad rap people ascribe to most flavored extracts. Of course, I pretty much gave up on those coffees 20 years ago, so it is possible that there are better products on the market than I have tried.
Umm I don't know what craft coffee you had, but the stuff I get and use is delicious. I've had pretty amazing success with flavored coffee.
That's not Triple C from Naples Beach Brewery by any chance, is it? If so it's quite good, picked up a crowler of that a few weeks ago.
Usually whole bean but have also lightly "cracked" the beans with a rolling pin. Haven't noticed much of a difference.
Wow, a lot to cover here... firstly, anytime you're using coffee you want it ground so that you get the full use of your product. Secondly, flavored coffees simply have added "flavorings" that can be "natural" or "artificial" - in almost all cases it takes more chemicals to extract a "natural" flavoring than it does to simply re-create it chemically ("artificial"). Finally, in my opinion, the best way to use coffee in beer is to do a cold brew, and then just add that to the fermented wort/beer before packaging.
Maybe you should tell me what stuff you're getting if you think it would change my mind. But I think I am pretty set in my ways, coffee-wise. I have just never had a flavored coffee that I wanted to drink more than a well-brewed dark roast, or for that matter, one that I brewed. If I wanted to combine coffee in beer with other flavors, I would probably stick to fairly traditional flavors like vanilla or cocoa, and I would probably use coffee and vanilla or cocoa rather than but a vanilla flavored or cocoa flavored coffee.
After doing both numerous times in beers at both the homebrew and commercial level, I think dry beaning lends a more complex coffee character than cold press. Cold press makes sense financially on a commercial level since breweries typically add 2-3 gallons of cold brew per bbl and thus add volume to which they profit off of. Dry beaning on the other hand absorbs beer and subtracts from volume that can be sold. On a financial level, I'm all for cold grew. On a quality level, lightly cracked beans (hammer) lend the best character.. In my experience.
Have you tried dry beaning with whole beans? I was talking to the Modern Times guys, and after trying it myself, I'll never go back to grinding. I've done maybe 25+ coffee beers and the three that have received the whole bean, dry bean method have been by far the best, without any hints of off flavors (I got some astringency/staleness 1-2 times using coarse ground beans for dry beaning due to some ground beans leaking out of the muslin bag and staying in the keg for too long).
I've read that Funky Buddha uses Mable Bacon Coffee in their Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. The flavor is VERY pronounced. I'll probably give it a go this Fall.
